Action taken regarding The Dougherty County Board of Education

February 5, 2010

Honorable Thurbert E. Baker
Attorney General
40 Capital Square, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Re: The Dougherty County Board of Education

Dear Mr. Baker:

I represent an incorporated group of taxpaying citizens, The Dougherty County Taxpayers Association, Inc., which was formed in 2006 by thousands of unhappy taxpayers who felt the need to confront ad valorem tax issues that evolved from an illegal tax assessment that was based upon inflated values derived from an out-of-state, unqualified, drive-by (windshield), real estate appraisal firm and our denial of arbitration and the administrative process by local officials. (Our lawsuits against County tax boards (and our appeals) have taken us all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court).

The rights of our taxpayers, most recently addressed by Senate Bill 346, have caused us to challenge local government corruption resulting in a November 2009 conviction of an inter-city manager, as well as exposing numerous accounts of wasteful government projects and spending at both the City and County levels. We are an organized, well informed, and engaged group of citizens who are striving to make our community a better place for its citizens to live.

Our local School Board, previously cited by our organization for wasteful spending, missing funds of $3.9 million from a school lunch program, and other infractions, has recently acted in such a way which we feel clearly violates the code of ethics of at least four Board members. In addition, their collective acts, as cited by their own attorney (see attached 2/1/10 letter from attorney Tommy Coleman of Perry & Walters, LLP) have clearly violated Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia.

Briefly, these four members (of a Board of seven) ignored warnings from their own attorney (and outraged citizens), by-passed the administrative and due process of the Georgia Code and the Open Records Act by holding closed sessions, and voted on and selected a new Superintendent of. Schools who, by all accounts, was ranked 34th of the 37 applicants in terms of experience and qualifications. They ignored the requirement of selecting at least three of the most qualified candidates and openly citing their qualifications to the public prior to a final vote.

Of the candidate they selected, there are not only issues of limited or educational experience in grades K-12 (a former prerequisite of candidates), but a somewhat obvious conflict of interest in his having served on another board with one of the of the School Board members who insisted on his appointment.

Our local media members WALB TV, FOX TV and The Albany Herald (The Albany Journal also dissenting) as a class, were granted an injunction on 2/5/10 by Superior Court Judge Denise Marshall delaying the seating of this questionable Superintendent and his appointment until March 1, 2010.

Our Taxpayers' Association has, as of this writing, initiated the proper steps to begin a recall under the Georgia Public Officers Recall Act of 1989 to at least hold these four School Board members accountable to the voting public for their egregious and illegal acts. Such a recall is time-consuming, and because of our March 1, 2010 deadline, (as to the injunction) we ask that your office intervene with this matter, not only from the standpoint of ethics and constitutional violations, but to protect state funds (and local funds) which will eventually fall prey to the potential misdeeds of these officials, if left unchecked.

We, as representatives of the citizens of Dougherty County, would appreciate your intervention and expedition of this matter in a most timely manner.

Richard R. Thomas
Chairman
Dougherty County Taxpayers' Association, Inc.


cc: Governor Sonny Purdue
Atlanta Journal & Constitution Tommy Coleman, Esq.
WALB TV
FOX TV
The Albany Herald
The Albany Journal